* The letter of George I. is countersigned "Carteret;" those of George II. by "Harrington," "H. Fox," and "Bedford." None of the other letters in the above list bear any signature but that of the king or queen who wrote them. Among the letters of Henry VIII., addressed to Villiers de L'Isle Adam, there is one of much interest. I refer to that of the earliest date, in which his majesty strongly recommended the Grand Master to accept of Tripoli, on the coast of Barbary, and the islands of Malta and Gozo, as a residence for the convent, which Charles V. had offered him. The importance of Malta as a military station was known in England three hundred years ago. L'Isle Adam (with the exception of La Valetta), the most distinguished of all the Maltese Grand Masters, died on the 21st of August, 1534. The last letter of Henry VIII., addressed to him, came to his successor, Nicholas Cotoner. On the mantle which covered the remains of this great man these few words were inscribed,--"Here lies Virtue triumphant over Misfortune."] Intending in a short time to examine these royal letters more closely, and hoping to refer to them again in "N.& Q.," I refrain from writing more at length on the present occasion. W. W. La Valetta, Malta. P.S.--Perhaps the following chronological table, referring to the Maltese Grand Masters who are mentioned in the above Note, may not be uninteresting to the readers of "N. & Q.": +-------------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Name. |When elected. |When deceased at Malta.| +-------------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ |Villiers de L'Isle Adam |At Rhodes, 1521 |1534, 21st of August. | |Nicholas Cotoner |At Malta, 1663 |1680. | |Gregory Carafa | Ditto 1680 |1690. | |Raymond Perellos | Ditto 1697 |1720. | |Anthony Manoel de Villena| Ditto 1722 |1736. | |Emanuel Pinto de Fonseca | Ditto 1741 |1773. | +-------------------------+----------------+-----------------------+ * * * * * {100} Minor Notes.